Slow Magic, Giraffage dazzle The Regency Ballroom

On December 17, The Regency Ballroom was illuminated with dazzling colors and emojis as eccentric electronic artists Giraffage and Slow Magic concluded their joint “So Cute!” tour with a much anticipated Bay Area show. Before the two graced the stage, openers DJ Dials and Lindsay Lowend remixed old school hip hop with modern trap bangers, easily awakening the audience’s itch to dance.

A slow fog crept onto the stage as the night began; back lighting irradiated it with shades of cotton candy pink and baby blue. From these mystical clouds, the anonymous Slow Magic emerged wielding his drumsticks like two magic wands. With each hit, flashes of sparkling light and color washed over the crowd. Even his iconic mask emitted a spectrum of hues that glimmered and pulsed to the beat of his music.

Although the recorded versions of his tracks evoke ethereal, floating atmospheres, Slow Magic transformed his debut album How to Run Away (2014) into an electrifying religious experience. During the melodic house-inspired “Girls,” he carried his toms down into the elated audience and invited them to dance in a ceremonial circle while he pounded along to celestial rhythms. Before concluding with the transcendent “Waited 4 U (ODESZA Remix),” Slow Magic speechlessly waved goodbye and formed a heart with his hands, signaling his tender, bittersweet departure. The audience returned the much deserved sentiment, before turning their full attention to the next act

“You guys want pizza?” asked Giraffage (Charlie Yin) with a cool nonchalance. He flung a slice of pepperoni pizza to the the screaming crowd as he started a dance party with his sugar-sweet trap remix of Carly Rae Jepson’s “I Really Like You.” During the hyphy set, Yin spoofed internet pop culture by projecting gifs of cute dogs, glitch art, early 2000s video games, large emojis, and crying Drake memes as his visuals. Although he played an extensive collection of original tracks like the bubbly “Tell Me” and the wavey, infectious “Be With You,” the highlights of his set were when he pandered to the collective nostalgia of the crowd, playing remixes of older pop hits like “Party in the USA,” “Hotline Bling” (with the iPhone marimba ringtone as a motif), and a mashup of Smashmouth’s “All Star” and Linkin Park’s “In the End” to conclude the night.

Though many fans came to listen to the artists’ unique electronic atmospheres, it was the impressive live experience of Slow Magic’s endless drum solo, Giraffage’s comical visuals, and an intimate performance that ultimately made the two performers feel like friends that could put on an otherworldly and yet down-to-earth show.

Article by Kenneth Zhang, photos courtesy of Robee Aquino